We are not competing with NBA — Nigerian Law Society

The Nigerian Law Society ( NLS) says it is not competing with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) but emerged to redefine the ideals of the founding fathers of the legal profession in Nigeria.

The National Publicity Secretary of NLS, Mr Bayo Akinlade, made the disclosure in an interview in Lagos while announcing the society’s  inaugural conference.

The conference is billed to take place on July 28.

NBA, a professional association of all lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar, was  founded in 1933.

NLS,  also a professional association of lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar, was conceived in October 2022.

It has Mr Kunle Ogunba (SAN) as its President.

There have been speculations that  NLS was set up by some aggrieved members of the NBA to overtake NBA which is set to hold its 2023 Annual General Conference from Aug. 25.

Akinlade said that NLS was not in any competition with NBA.

He said that NLS  had its aims and objectives.

“Other associations such as Christian Law Students Fellowship of Nigeria and Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria are also having their conferences.

“I am a member of NBA by statute, which says that I am an automatic member of the association. I can belong to five or six different associations.

“We are not a cult or an association that is contrary to the ethics of the legal profession or the 1999 Constitution,” he said.

According to Akinlade, the standards of NLS are not based on NBA’s aims and objectives.

“Our ethical standard is what the legal profession requires, not what the NBA requires.

“The NLS is not in competition with the NBA, and we can never be in any competition with an association because we are not running a business.

“We are not struggling with anybody; this is an association of people who have paid their dues and are known in the society to have a high level of intergrity,” he said.